Lions' Ndamukong Suh wants to avoid holdout, even though agent has history of them

AP PhotoNdamukong Suh on contract negotiations with the Detroit Lions: "I don't think it's going to be a problem at all."ALLEN PARK -- The voice was soft, but the words were firm.

When asked about the possibility that he might be a contract holdout in training camp, Detroit Lions first-round pick Ndamukong Suh said, "I'm not a guy who likes to be part of drama or the limelight. I definitely don't want to hold out and (Suh's agents) have an understanding that we want to be on time in camp and ready to go."

The words, though, also were a little confusing.

Suh was the second overall pick in the draft behind Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford, who was taken first by the St. Louis Rams.

With a premium on quarterbacks and the fact Bradford was taken ahead of him, it might be reasonable to assume that Suh would accept being paid as college football's second-best player.

Perhaps not.

"I feel like being paid and, as coach (Jim) Schwartz said, he feels I'm the best player in college football and I think they understand that. I don't think it'll be a problem," Suh said on Friday. "This is my first time in this situation and I don't know what's fair. That's why I picked my agents because I think they know what's fair. It has to do with both parties and my understanding is the Lions see me as the best player in the draft and college football, as coach Schwartz said. I don't think it's going to be a problem at all."

The reason it might be a problem is that Suh is being presented by Eugene Parker and Roosevelt Barnes and Parker has a history of lengthy holdouts.

Jackson was more than a week late to camp while Crabtree missed all of training camp and the first month of the regular season, not signing a deal until early October.

There are other Parker holdouts -- Bears' running back Cedric Benson held out 36 days as a rookie while veteran Rams running back Steven Jackson stayed away from camp for 27 days in 2008 and Bills' offensive lineman Jason Peters missed all of camp the same year -- without getting a new contract.

Parker, though, keeps getting new clients because he usually does a good job in coming up with the money. Sometimes the players don't gain any financial advantage by holding out, like Crabtree, but sometimes they cash in big time.

Back in 2004, Arizona receiver Larry Fitzgerald was the third overall pick, but Parker helped him get a record contract for a rookie -- six years for $60 million. The deal, which was signed after a relatively short holdout, was bigger than that of quarterback Eli Manning, who was the first pick in that draft.

The questions remain: Will Suh be a holdout? If so, for how long? And, will it have a detrimental impact on his rookie season?

The Lions say they have no interest in addressing questions about contract negotiations at this stage of the process.

Suh continues to say he won't be a holdout.

"It's something that I addressed with every last agency I met with," Suh said. "That's something I believe in, it's something I don't want to go through and I'm not going to go through it. It was the first thing that was brought up in the meeting -- that I wanted to be in camp on time and are you going to have a problem doing that?

"Obviously, that comes from both sides, it has to do with myself as well as the organization. From talking to everybody in the front office, it sounds very good in that we'll be able to close something together soon. I'm looking forward to it and I don't want to really have to deal with any of that. That's why I got those two agents, because they understand what I want and how I like to go about things. I don't like being in the media, I'm not a drama queen."